Rest, your sins are really forgiven

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Devotionals2 Comments

as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.

Ps 103:12

Our God is a God who forgives. He does not hold our sins against us. If you are in Christ, you do not need to pay for your past sins, your current sin, or your future sins. God has forgiven you, not on the basis of your works. You are clearly sinful and need forgiveness. Rather, He has forgiven you based on Jesus’ work.

God’s forgiveness is not universal. It is, as the Psalmist goes on to say in the next verse:

as a father shows compassion to his children, so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear him.

Ps 103:13

In order to receive forgiveness, we must fear the Lord. Fear does not solely refer to fear of judgment, though God is our Judge. Fears primary use in this context is that of reverence for the Lord. To revere the Lord, we must recognize Him for who He is — our Creator, Sustainer, Provider, Judge, Lord, all wise, loving, caring Father who shows steadfast love, but does not pardon the guilty.

Those who revere God desire to honor and glorify Him with their life by living according to His wisdom and purposes. They turn from self to God, understanding salvation is found in Him alone. Only Jesus could die in our place as our substitutionary sacrifice. Only Jesus could atone for our sins, repairing our relationship with the Father. Only Jesus could allow the Father to remain holy while He forgives our sins, not holding them against us, separating them from us as far as the East is from the West.

Do you fear the Lord? Or are you attempting to pay for your sins with your own works?

The Blessing of God’s Word

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn DevotionalsLeave a comment

Blessed is the man whom you discipline, O LORD, and whom you teach out of your law,

Psalm 94:12

Paul, in the New Testament, echoes the Psalmist when he tells Timothy to stick with God’s Word, not to move on from it or add anything alongside it. He tells Timothy to stick with the sacred writings (Scripture) because God’s Word is given to teach, reprove, correct, and train in righteousness (2 Tim 3:16-17).

With Paul’s thought in mind, if we return to the Psalmist, we learn that we are blessed for being taught and even disciplined by God’s Word. Certainly, Paul might have had this Scripture in mind when he penned his words to Timothy.

Why are we blessed when taught and disciplined by the Word of God?

We are blessed because God’s Word points us to God’s will and design for how we are to live in the world in which He created. When we live according to God’s will not pressing against the fabric of His design but flowing with it, things go well for us. The book of Proverbs is an excellent example. Following the wisdom of the world is folly, but following the wisdom of God is righteousness.

Of course, it is Proverbs, you have to balance it out with Ecclesiastes, which teaches us the righteous don’t always succeed in this world. But even if the righteous don’t succeed, they can experience joy even in the midst of trial if they are seeking God’s will in His Word (see James 1:2-4).

Church, allow God’s Word to teach, reprove, correct, and train you. It may be painful at times, but it is what is best. For God’s discipline through His Word is a blessing.

The Importance of Reading the Bible in Context

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Devotionals, PracticalLeave a comment

“Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”

(Matt 19:21)

Yes, Jesus told the rich young ruler to sell all his possessions and give to the poor. But why? The context tells us and the context is key. The rich young ruler thought he could earn his way into heaven through good works. Jesus, however, used his possessions to show him that was not true.

In the case of the rich young ruler, he may have kept some of the commandments but when it came to putting other gods before Yahweh, he failed. He worshipped his possessions, which is idolatry. When asked to put away his idols, he refused.

Our hearts are desperately wicked. An idol factories even. We don’t need the secret combination of works. Selling your possessions does no more to earn you a place in the kingdom than does keeping all the rest of the commandments. It is not about our actions, but our heart. Our heart is sick with sin. We need a complete heart change. We need a Savior. We can’t be our own. We need Jesus to pay our debt because we can’t pay it ourselves.

Be a responsible Bible reader. Don’t read verses in isolation. Read the context. It is important to understanding God’s will.

It is never too late

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He prayed to him, and God was moved by his entreaty and heard his plea and brought him again to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the LORD was God.

2 Chronicles 33:13

It is never too late to turn to the Lord. Manasseh was one of the most wicked kings in Judah. He reversed the reforms of his father Hezekiah, leading the people away from the Lord and to worship false gods.

The Lord humbled Manasseh. From captivity in Babylon, Manasseh prayed to the Lord and the Lord forgave him. He actually did more than forgive him. He brought him back to Judah restoring Manasseh’s reign as king. Manasseh then led the people to worship and follow God.

It is never too late to turn to the Lord in repentance and belief. He is the one true God who provides salvation to those who humble themselves by recognizing they can’t save themselves. Only through Jesus can we experience a reconciled relationship with the Lord and accomplish our God given purpose — to bring God glory.

Why should we humble ourselves?

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Rehoboam is an example of the proverb. Even when warned by Shemaiah the prophet:

“Then Shemaiah the prophet came to Rehoboam and to the princes of Judah, who had gathered at Jerusalem because of Shishak, and said to them, “Thus says the LORD, ‘You abandoned me, so I have abandoned you to the hand of Shishak.'”

2 Chronicles 12:5

Rehoboam did not abandon his pride. It wasn’t until Shishak, the ruler of Egypt, began to decimate his kingdom that he turned and humbled himself before the Lord.

How did God respond when Rehoboam repented?

Then the princes of Israel and the king humbled themselves and said, “The LORD is righteous.” When the LORD saw that they humbled themselves, the word of the LORD came to Shemaiah: “They have humbled themselves. I will not destroy them, but I will grant them some deliverance, and my wrath shall not be poured out on Jerusalem by the hand of Shishak.Nevertheless, they shall be servants to him, that they may know my service and the service of the kingdoms of the countries.”

2 Chronicles 12:6-8

The Lord relented His wrath on Rehoboam and Judah so as to provide them some relief. They were sacked and beaten down but they were not destroyed. God is merciful, but He is also just. Even though God’s heart is bent towards mercy, His character requires Him to act justly (Exodus 34:6-7).

The Psalm that accompanies our reading of 2 Chronicles 12, in our read through Scripture program, reveals how we should think of our relationship with the Lord:

“For behold, those who are far from you shall perish; you put an end to everyone who is unfaithful to you. But for me it is good to be near God; I have made the Lord GOD my refuge, that I may tell of all your works.”

Psalm 73:27-28

We shouldn’t believe ourselves better than the Lord. We shouldn’t allow ourselves to stray from His wisdom and will for our lives. Instead, we should continue to trust in and seek Him. He is our refuge. It is because of Him that we find success.

Rehoboam learned this lesson the hard way, you can argue he never fully learned it because he continued to do evil all his days. Let us not learn the hard way. Let us humble ourselves before the mighty hand of our God all the days of our lives.

All things come from the Lord

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In a time of prosperity and materialism, we must not forget that all things come from the hand of the Lord. 

David did not forget. As he was commissioning his son, Solomon, as the next king and setting Solomon up as the one who would build the future Temple, he says in 1 Chronicles 29:14,

Instead of thinking, we are giving what we have earned to the Lord, know we are giving back what He first gave us.

All our tithes and offerings, God has given us first.